1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball season

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The 1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball season began in December 1971, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1972 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 25, 1972, at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California. The UCLA Bruins won their eighth NCAA national championship with an 81–76 victory over the Florida State Seminoles.

Season headlines[]

  • UCLA went undefeated (30–0) and won its sixth NCAA championship in a row, eighth overall, and eighth in nine seasons. In the Pacific 8 Conference, it also won its sixth of what ultimately would be 13 consecutive conference titles.
  • The national championship game was played on Saturday for the last time. It moved to Monday night in 1973.

Season outlook[]

Pre-season polls[]

The Top 20 from the AP Poll and Coaches Poll during the pre-season.[3][4]

Associated Press
Ranking Team
1 UCLA
2 North Carolina
3 USC
4 Marquette
5 Ohio State
6 Maryland
7 Houston
8 Long Beach State
9 Louisville
10 Kentucky
11 Jacksonville
12 South Carolina
13 Michigan
14 Kansas
15 Penn
16 New Mexico
17 St. John's
18 Villanova
19 BYU
20 Oklahoma
UPI Coaches
Ranking Team
1 UCLA
2 Marquette
3 USC
4 North Carolina
5 Ohio State
6 Houston
7 Maryland
8 Louisville
9 Long Beach State
10 Kentucky
11 Jacksonville
12 New Mexico State
13 South Carolina
14 BYU
15 St. John's
16 Kansas
17 Villanova
18 Michigan
19 Harvard
20 Pacific

Conference membership changes[]

School Former Conference New Conference
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Gulf States Conference Southland Conference
NYU Violets University Division independent No basketball program
Pacific Tigers West Coast Athletic Conference Pacific Coast Athletic Association
Seattle Redhawks University Division independent West Coast Athletic Conference
South Carolina Gamecocks Atlantic Coast Conference University Division independent
Southwest Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Gulf States Conference Southland Conference

Regular season[]

Conference winners and tournaments[]

Conference Regular
Season Winner[5]
Conference
Player of the Year
Conference
Tournament
Tournament
Venue (City)
Tournament
Winner
Atlantic Coast Conference North Carolina Barry Parkhill,
Virginia[6]
1972 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament Greensboro Coliseum
(Greensboro, North Carolina)
North Carolina
Big Eight Conference Kansas State Isaac "Bud" Stallworth, Kansas[7] No Tournament
Big Sky Conference Weber State None selected No Tournament
Big Ten Conference Minnesota None selected No Tournament
Ivy League Penn None selected No Tournament
Mid-American Conference Ohio Tom Kozelko, Toledo[8] No Tournament
Middle Atlantic Conference Temple (East); Rider (West) No Tournament
Missouri Valley Conference Louisville & Memphis State Larry Finch, Memphis State No Tournament
Ohio Valley Conference Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State, & Western Kentucky Les Taylor, Murray State No Tournament
Pacific 8 Conference UCLA None selected No Tournament
Pacific Coast Athletic Association Long Beach State Ed Ratleff, Long Beach State No Tournament
Southeastern Conference Kentucky & Tennessee Mike Edwards, Tennessee, & Tom Parker, Kentucky[9] No Tournament
Southern Conference Davidson Russ Hunt,
Furman[10]
1972 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Greenville Memorial Auditorium
(Greenville, South Carolina)
(Semifinals and Finals)
East Carolina[11]
Southland Conference Louisiana Tech Dwight "Bo" Lamar,
Southwest Louisiana[12]
No Tournament
Southwest Conference SMU & Texas Larry Robinson, Texas No Tournament
West Coast Athletic Conference San Francisco Mike Stewart, Santa Clara No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference BYU None selected No Tournament
Yankee Conference Rhode Island None selected No Tournament

Informal championships[]

Conference Regular
Season Winner
Conference
Player of the Year
Conference
Tournament
Tournament
Venue (City)
Tournament
Winner
Philadelphia Big 5 Penn & Temple None selected No Tournament

Statistical leaders[]

Post-Season Tournaments[]

NCAA Tournament[]

Final Four[]

National Semifinals National Finals
      
E North Carolina 75
ME Florida State 79
ME Florida State 76
W UCLA 81
MW Louisville 77
MW UCLA 96
  • Third Place – North Carolina 105, Louisville 91

National Invitation Tournament[]

Semifinals & Finals[]

Semifinals Finals
      
  Jacksonville 77
  Maryland 91
  Maryland 100
  Niagara 69
  St. John's 67
  Niagara 69
  • Third Place – Jacksonville 83, St. John's 80

Awards[]

Consensus All-American teams[]

Consensus First Team
Player Position Class Team
Henry Bibby G Senior UCLA
Jim Chones C Junior Marquette
Dwight Lamar G Junior Southwestern Louisiana
Bob McAdoo F Junior North Carolina
Ed Ratleff F Junior Long Beach State
Tom Riker F/C Senior South Carolina
Bill Walton C Sophomore UCLA


Consensus Second Team
Player Position Class Team
Rich Fuqua G Junior Oral Roberts
Barry Parkhill G Junior Virginia
Jim Price G Senior Louisville
Bud Stallworth F Senior Kansas
Henry Wilmore G/F Junior Michigan

Major player of the year awards[]

Major coach of the year awards[]

Other major awards[]

Coaching changes[]

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

Team Former
Coach
Interim
Coach
New
Coach
Reason
Georgetown John Thompson McGee was fired at the end of the season after the 1971–72 Georgetown team finished with a record of 3–23.
Hardin–Simmons
Kentucky Adolph Rupp Joe B. Hall Rupp retired as the NCAA all-time leader in victories. He was replaced by lead assistant Hall.
Marshall Carl Tacy Bob Daniels Tacy left after the season to become the head coach at Wake Forest.
Wake Forest Jack McCloskey Carl Tacy McCloskey left after the season to become the head coach for the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers.

References[]

  1. ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 846. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  2. ^ "1978 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  3. ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia. Random House. 2009. p. 836. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  4. ^ "1977 Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  5. ^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  6. ^ 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section, retrieved 2009-02-14
  7. ^ 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2009-02-04
  8. ^ 2008–09 MAC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2009-02-14
  9. ^ 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-06
  10. ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
  11. ^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Postseason Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2009-02-09
  12. ^ 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2009-02-07
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